Star Wars: Prince of the Empire
by Supertodd17
Summary: This is a story i have been developing for quite a few years. It is a Star Wars story that takes place 1,000 years after the movies, with all new original characters. There will be more to come. Hope you all like it.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The Black night sky covered the surface of the moon of Endor. The only visible light came from the burning trees and villages. A little girl, no more than five, ran through the woods and did not dare to stop. Though her bare feet were bruised and bleeding, and her legs were throbbing, she dared not stop. She ran from the burning village that was her home. She ran from the soldiers that laid waste and burned it to the ground. She ran from the dark, red bladed warriors who killed her parents. She ran because it was the last thing her mother told her to do. That's all she could hear running through her mind "RUN ALADA! TAKE YOUR BROTHER AND RUN!" She had obeyed her mother and ran through the burning village with her three years old brother, holding her hand, following behind her. But he did not make it to the forest with her. A tree branch fell between them and broke a hole in the floor. He fell through the wooden beams into the flames below. The memories brought tears to her eyes, they blurred her vision as she ran. She didn't see the exposed tree root in front of her...She tripped on it and fell face first into the dirt below her. Little Alada just laid there, too exhausted to move. Her small body just could not take any more running. After all, she had been running for fifteen minutes straight now. All she could do now was lay there and sob, her mind filled with the painful memories of what had happened that evening.

As the ashes fell down like snow, the young girl laid weeping. She remembered the soft grass she used to lay in, under the tree hut she lived in. Now all she felt was the sharp twigs poking at her face and sides. She remembered her friends, the Ewok children from the village, and all the games they used to play. Now she was alone. The memory of her family came up in her mind, how her father would hold her in his strong and comforting arms. How she longed for them now. Her mother would nurse her wounds whenever she fell down and scraped her knee or elbow. Now she lay there with scratches and cuts on her face and arms, with no one to tend to them. Her little brother, Jredair, She was supposed to protect him, be his strong older sister. But now he is gone and there was nothing she could do to help him. Helplessness fell upon her, confusion and despair swept over her. She was alone and there was no one who could help her. Her father used to tell her stories of great heroes called the Jedi, warriors of the light and keepers of peace. She remembered the last line of their code that her father taught her, "there is no death, there is only the Force" she was did not know exactly what they meant but they brought her some comfort. Just then she heard a voice like her father's in the back of her head say "The Force will be with you, always". PAPA! She yelled, rising to her feet and looking frantically for him, but alas he was nowhere to be seen. He died right in front of her, there was no way he could still be alive. She looked behind her to see how much ground she had covered. Her eyes were still somewhat blurry from all the crying she just did. She rubbed her eyes to wipe the tears away, which cleared things up. However what she saw made her tremble in fear, the soldiers from the village were searching the forest with flashlights in their hands. She was far away enough that they would not be able to see her just yet, but if she stayed there any longer they would soon find her. She backed away slowly as not to catch their attention. She moved slowly away from them until she thought she was out of hearing distance from them, then she bolted it, using whatever energy she had left. She started to slow down a little bit and transitioned into a light walk. Looking behind her she could not see the soldiers, but she kept on moving just to be sure. She did not want to bump into any more of them. She walked through the dense forest, it had once been green and lush, but was now gray with ash. She could other villages burning of in the distance, for hers had not been the only one attacked that night. It seemed like the entire moon had been laid to waste a burned to the ground. She avoided any fires as she knew that is where the soldiers would be. She was forced to go deeper into the dark woods. The only light coming from the remains of the Death Star. The sun reflected light off its debris like it was a little moon for Endor. It's parts were scattered across the sky, but they gave almost as much light as a full moon, or that is what her parents had told her. She had never been to any other planets before and had yet to have seen a full moon in the sky for herself. The small light showed her a small dirt road that she decided to follow. As she walked it reminded her of all the adventures she would have with her friends, or the long hikes she would take with her family. Tears started to well back up, but she had to fight them, she could not afford to be distracted, or have her vision blocked. She needed to stay focused in order to stay alive. The road had led her to a small cave hidden inside a large hill, and just in time, she was starting to get cold in the night air. She made her way over to the cave and had a look inside. It was very small, almost like it had once been a borrow for an animal that had been dug out. However there did not appear to be any animals inside, in fact it looked abandoned. She climbed in, the cave resided at the base of the hill so she did not have to climb very high to get into it. She found a spot on the ground that was not too wet or hard, and she laid down. But it would be awhile before she could fall asleep. Thoughts filled her head of what could happen to her if she closed her eyes. She could get eaten by a wild animal, she could be found by the soldiers and be shot. She never exactly been afraid of the dark, but more afraid of what could be waiting in it. Her mother used to sing her a song when she was scared, it would always help her fall asleep. /span/p

 _"Sleep my dear child, sleep for all is well_

 _Sleep my dear child for a story i shall tell_

 _My dear baby you shall see, that the Darkness fears the Light_

 _For the Light is ever present, because the light comes through life_

 _And Life is ever present, though darkness fills the night_

 _And Darkness can not harm the light, for the light shines so bright"_

Alada sang it to herself over and over again and even though it gave her some comfort it brought back the memories of her mother and how she would never see her again. She continued to sing it softly to herself as exhaustion and drowsiness swept over her, and she could not hold her eyes open any longer. And after a while she was sound asleep.


	2. Chapter 1

_**1**_

A Sith Transport Ship dropped out of hyperspace over the planet Dromund Kass, and entered its atmosphere. It was dark and stormy; it's clouds were dark and thick, which made it hard to see. Thunder rumbled through the clouds as lightning flashed across the the sky. The ship rattled with the sounds of rain pouring over the cockpit. The wind knocked them around and hit them hard. The pilot held onto the controls tight with his blue, twi'lek, hands. He struggled to keep the ship steady as he made his way to the planet's surface. " You may want to brace yourself my lord!" the pilot yelled "It may be a rough landing!" A tall figure emerged from the cargo bay and entered the cockpit. He wore a gray, expressionless, helmet on his head. A cape, as black as night, draped over his shoulders, with the hood pulled back. The cape almost covered his black and gray armored robes. He carried a lightsaber on his belt, and wore black gloves. This was Lord Kriag, Prince of the Empire and possibly the future Lord of the Sith. He was a cunning warrior, and a powerful force user. The pilot had been flying him around for years, and he had witnessed him do great and amazing things. "Well Draigos," the prince spoke through the speakers in his helmet, "Good thing rough landings are your speciality". Draigos gave a smirk, and turned on the front lights to the ship so he could see better. He turned left and right just to avoid being being shot down by the violent discharge of energy coming from the clouds. "I'm going to go check on the cargo, you keep this ship together." the dark figure said as he turned to the cargo hold, "Oh, and try to not crash the ship." "Hey!" Draigos responded "It's me remember?" "I know" the Prince replied as he walked out of the room "That's why i said it" "That was ONE time!" Draigos shouted back. "And I haven't done it since." "That happened TODAY." Kriag responded. "You're lucky the ship wasn't badly damaged." "You try landing a ship in a sandstorm while your engines are clogged with sand." he snarked back. The Twi'lek Pilot continued to dodge lightning strikes and resisting the wind, until he saw the ground below, and the landing spot. The ship lowered down nice and soft on the ground. Draigos unbuckled himself from his seat and went to go check on Kriag. As he entered the cargo hold, he could see Kriag loading the head of a young Krayt Dragon they killed on Tatooine, onto a cart; Then hooking it's mother's tooth to his belt. "Told you I wouldn't crash it." he said as he entered the room. "Leave the engine running" the Dark one said, "We may need to leave right away." He hit the button to the cargo hold doors, and pulled his hood over his helmet. Then he pulled the cart behind him as he walked out into the pouring rain.

Kriag pulled the cart through the torrents of rain, his cape and robes being whipped around by the strong wind. It was cold and he was already soaked. Still it was better than burning up in the hot deserts of Tatooine. He had just come from there and had completed his second trial, The Trial of Strength. Now he was bringing proof to his master. He could see the the ancient ruins off in the distance, not that far off. That was where he was to meet The Emperor, his father. The structure was very tall and looked old, but surprisingly still very sturdy. It was surrounded by several other broken down buildings, These were the remains of the ancients Sith Empire and the great city that was its capital. He looked to his right and he could see the rest of the city off in the distance. He could see the citadel where many great Sith walked and the Dark Council debated the fate of the galaxy. Or at least that was what they were supposed to; But instead they were to busy killing each other, consumed by their own greed and lust for power. This was the Sith Empire's downfall, this is why Darth Bane had decided to keep the Sith to only two, a master and an apprentice. Kriag thought that was an extreme solution, but it had worked and the Sith did survive, and even defeated their great enemy the Jedi. Only for the Jedi to rise again and destroy the Sith again, blinded by their own pride. But yet now they were back, this just shows that no matter how many times the Jedi tried, the dark would never truly be destroyed. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice yelling out at him. "Halt!" one of the two Inquisitors, standing at the entrance to the tower called out to him. They both activated their red, double bladed, lightsabers that did a quick spin. "Who goes there?" they demanded. Kriag just walked up the steps to them, removed his hood, took off his helmet and held it at his side. Lightning flashed and lit up his face. Rain dripped down his long, wavy, brown hair, and his pale caucasian skin. His eyes burned with an orange glow, like one accustomed to the darkness. The Inquisitors deactivated their lightsabers and stepped aside. "Apologies my lord, right this way." Kriag walked past them and entered the ruins. It was fairly dry inside, only a little bit of water leaked into the building. It was also well lit do to the torches on the walls. He followed the mossy stone path down to the end of the hall, there he found a large room with a spiral staircase running up the sides of the wall. His master was in on the top floor, so he made his way up the steps, several stories up. As he made his journey upward he reflected on what he was thinking earlier. In both cases the Sith fell because they lacked one trait, Unity. The Sith were constantly at each other's throats, and could never unify towards a single goal. Not with gaining more power being their only goal in life. As much as he hated to admit it, the Jedi did indeed have this trait and in some sense it made them stronger than The Sith. Whereas the Sith were stronger as individuals, the Jedi were united as one, and outnumbered the Sith. If the Sith were to survive and wipe out the Jedi, they needed to grow and they needed to rally together. Though Bane was right that the number of Sith should be limited, he did not believe that they should limit themselves to only two. But two would have to do for now, there was only one Sith Lord currently, His Father. He had been training him and his brother Titan for many years now, molding them into powerful warriors, with the hope that one day one of them would be his apprentice and heir to the Sith Empire. Titan and Kriag were very different than your typical Acolytes, because they had trained together and fought in many battles together, they trusted each other. If it was not for this trust and the bond of brotherhood they would not have been as effective fighters or won as many battles as they did. They were a great duo, Titan was a superior duelist, and Kriag was a master off the dark side, they were able to play off of each other's strengths and weaknesses, compensating for them and fighting as one. A perfect marriage between warrior and intellect, The Dark Side and the blade. But all that would soon come to an end, only one of them could ascend to the rank of apprentice and heir to the throne, the other would most likely die. This was the way of the Sith, or at least currently, Kriag was determined to change things, but he just wasn't sure how to just yet. His thought's were interrupted, As he had now made it to the top of the tower, and was nearing the room where he was to meet his father.

Kriag entered through the doorway of a large room at the top of the tower. It had once been a lookout point on the great wall that surrounded the city of Dromund Kaas, and despite being several thousand years old, it had remained mostly intact. A testament to ancient Sith engineering. The room had a few leaks in the roof, cracked flooring, and an abundance of plant life growing from the walls. It had an opening which led to a balcony where you could see the ruins of the once great capital of The Sith Empire. Inside the room stood his brother and Father. His Brother was Tall, much taller than him, almost 2 meters tall. He was stocky, and had a lot of muscle mass, some people might even mistake him for a hairless Wookie. He had a clean shaven head and bright orange eyes like Kriag. He wore black armor with a red chest plate, and a black hooded cape. But despite all his strength, he stood with very little confidence, at least when compared to the stance of his Father. His Father stood with such confidence, and power, it demanded respect. He wore his black hood over his head and eyes, a dark shadow covered his face, the only thing you could see was his mouth, and white beard on his chin. His black cape draped over his back and over his shoulders and arms. It almost covered his elegant robes, they were gray and black and adorned in beautiful blue designs. He wore a silver breastplate and black sash across his waist. Just his presence in the room sent a chill down Kriag's spine. It was dark and cold, like the dark side itself had manifested into flesh and stood before him, no wonder Titan stood so timid. "Ah so you made it at last. Tell me did you complete your task? Or have you come to me empty handed?" His father asked. His voice was deep and powerful, but not harsh. It was commanding yet soothing at the same time. "Yes Father, I have done as you have asked." Kriag responded. He reached into his cape and pulled the dragon's tooth from his side. "Here is the mother's tooth, and I left the head of it's young outside with the guards."

"Excellent." his Father replied "Now you have both completed your second trial, but you are far from being Sith. You must complete two more trials before you can be inducted into the Sith order, and rule by my side as my apprentice." "We understand father." Kriag replied "What is our next trial?" "Titan already knows his trial, He may leave now and prepare for the journey." The Emperor responded. "As you say, my lord." Titan said with a bow and walked out of the room. The Dark Lord turned his attention to Kriag. "Your next trial will test your strength in The Force and how well you can withstand the power of the dark side. Many past Acolytes have walked this path before, and even though they were powerful, they were driven mad when exposed to the raw power of the dark side." "I am ready for any challenge you place before me father" The young prince responded. "We shall see, we shall see... For your next trial you will travel to the ancient tomb of Darth Vitiate, the former Emperor of the old Sith Empire. The tomb is here on Dromund Kaas, deep in the jungles. Only one powerful in the force can enter the tomb, and once you are inside you will feel the full power of the Dark Side. To prove to me that you completed your task you will bring me the tablets of his ancient writings that were buried within the Dark Lord's casket. Do you understand?" "Yes, Father" he replied. "Then go, and prove to me that you are worthy of being sith." The Dark lord turned his back to him and looked out on the horizon. Kriag gave a slight bow "As you wish my lord" he said as he walked out of the room.

The young prince exited the room, and entered the hallway he had walked through before. At the end of the hall stood his brother, waiting for him. Kriag walked up to him and they began to walk together as they headed to the spiral staircase that took him up the tower. "Where is he sending you?" Titan asked as they walked. "Darth Vitiate's tomb." he responded "Where is he sending you?" he asked. " To Moraband, to the tomb of Tulak Hord." he responded. They walked down the steps for a bit in silence. Titan again broke the silence, "I don't like this Kriag, we are nearing the end of our trials and only one of us can ascend to the title of Apprentice." "I know Titan" Kriag responded. "We must be patient, these trials make us stronger and once we both succeed in completing our trials we will have the power to overthrow our father." "And we can take our rightful place on the throne." Titan said. "Exactly!" Kriag responded. They were now at the bottom of the stairs and about to enter the hallway that lead to the exit. They stopped short at the beginning of the hallway however, in order to stay out of earshot of the guards. "We must stay vigilant, if we are going to succeed we need to be strong." Titan nodded "But what if i fail to complete the trials?" he asked. "Then you don't deserve to be Sith!" Kriag answered harshly. Titan turned his head to the side and clenched his fists, not out of anger but in shame. "You're right." he said looking at Kriag. "I will not fail.'' "Nor will I." said Kriag. Then he put on his helmet and began to walk towards the exit, leaving Titan behind. Then he stopped and turned towards his brother and said through the speakers of his helmet. "May the force ever serve you." Titan nodded in response "And you as well" he said. With that The dark prince walked out into the rain toward his ship.

Titan watched from the doorway as his brother took of for the tombs on the other side of the planet. His ship rose from the ground and took off towards his next trial. Titan made his way to his own ship which was not far from the tower. The rain had dyed down a bit and was now just a light drizzle, rather than the torrents of rain that were pouring earlier. As he walked he thought of what his brother said to him in the tower, it struck him deep in his core. Was he worthy of being Sith? It is a question he had asked his whole life, mainly because it was a question he knew his father asked every day. He knew he was not as powerful as his father would have hoped. The only reason he was allowed to participate in these trials was because he was the Emperor's son and deserved a fair chance at becoming heir to the throne. Kriag on the other hand was different. Kriag was powerful and had the potential to match their father and maybe even surpass him. This was why their father always favoured Kriag instead of him, he was always the better Acolyte. But Titan was not without skills, he was a better duelist that his brother, and he was physically stronger than either his brother or his father. He was a tank and could take a lot of punishment, and he was powerful in the force, just not as powerful as Kriag. He was worthy of being Sith, he knew it, he just had to prove it. He was confident that he could complete all of his trials, but so was Kriag. He was not sure what would happen if they both completed their trials? Kriag was certain that they could beat their father if they worked together, but Titan was not so sure. Together they are a powerful force and had won many battles, but their father was immensely powerful all on his own. Titan was fairly certain that if they faced their father now either one or both of them would die. Well he was not going to let that happen, especially if facing their father meant his death. Something had to be done but he was not sure if he had the strength to do it. He walked up to the entrance of his ship and climbed aboard. A pilot droid sat in the cockpit at the controls. "Where to my lord?" the droid said. "Moroband, and make it quick." The droid put in the appropriate information into the nav-computer and started the engines. The ship rose from the ground and took of into the atmosphere, off to Moroband.


End file.
